Germany’s Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) finally won a stage in the 2020 Tour de France with a victory in Stage 16 during a 164 km ride through La Chartreuse mountains from La Tour du Pin to Villard-de-Lans.
Last week, Kamna finished in second place in Stage 13 at Puy Mary and missed out on winning his first stage at the Tour de France. Daniel Martinez (EF Pro Cycling) edged out Kamna during a summit finish. Kamna ran out of gas on the final push at Put Mary and finished four seconds behind Martinez.
In Stage 16, Kamna did not squander his chance to reach the finish line first at the posh ski area of Villard-de-Lans.
| TOUR de FRANCE STAGE 16 RESULTS |
- Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 04:12:52
- Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) +01:27
- Sebastien Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ) +01:56
There was no change at the top of the overall general classification leader board during the first of three painstaking mountain stages this week. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) retains his 40-second lead over Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Stage 16: La Tour du Pin > Villard-de-Lans
Stage 16 featured narrow roads into one of the more rugged areas of France. The French resistance holed up in the area to fend off Nazi invaders. The 164 km route from La Tour du Pin to Villard-de-Lans was punctuated with five different climbs.
The riders were challenged with the 11 km ascent to the top of Montee de Saint-Nizier-du-Mouchrotte. The category 1 climb had a 6.5% gradient.
The race ended with a modest Category 3 climb, but riders had to face an uphill finish at Villard-de-Lans.
Kamna won the stage for Bora-Hansgrohe and he finished nearly 17 minutes ahead of the peloton.
“I feel great, an absolutely awesome day for me,” said Kamna. “It was a fight from the beginning on, and I knew I had to make it to the finish alone.”
Kamna reached the finish line at Villard-de-Lans unopposed.
“When I saw that Carapaz was dropping the speed, I thought now it’s the time to go and went all-in to the end. It’s a big relief also for the team and for me. I can almost not imagine it. The step I made this year is huge and I’m so blessed to win today.”
Richard Carapaz (Ineos) finished nearly 90 seconds behind Kamna. Carapaz is now doing all the heavy lifting for Ineos after Egan Bernal cracked on the ascent of Mount Colombier in Stage 15.
On Deck: Stage 17 Grenoble > Meribel
On Wednesday, Stage 17 starts in Grenoble and ends 170 km later at the top of Col de la Loze in Meribel.
If Pogacar wants to shed time off Roglic’s lead, he has to make a move during one of the two hellacious HC climbs in Stage 17. Col de la Madeleine is the first HC approximately mid-way through the stage.
For the first time in history, the peloton will take a new road to the top of Col de la Loze. The summit finish sits 2,305 meters high. The final ascent will be a 21.5 km climb with a 7.8% gradient.
Pogacar comes into Stage 17 as the favorite to win at 2/1 odds. Roglic is right behind at 7/2 odds.
| GC STANDINGS THRU STAGE 16 |
- Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 70:06:47
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +00:40
- Rigoberto Uran (EF Pro Cycling) +01:34
- Miguel Lopez (Astana) +01:45
- Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) +02:03
If Roglic can maintain his lead heading into Meribel, then he should lock down the Tour de France victory.
Roglic is -355 odds to win the Tour de France, according to a recent update by DraftKings. Pogacar is +240 odds to win Le Tour, and the only other rider who has a shot at catching the leader.
For more coverage of the 2020 Tour de France, check out our dedicated cycling and betting page.